Chapter 67
The carved teak bed board is not as durable as the Blue Sea bed frame. If it shakes too much, it will make a creaking sound, which is particularly harsh in the silence of the early morning.
Xiao Ziyu's body stiffened, his breathing became irregular, and a muffled groan came from above his head. Yuan Heng finally straightened up a little: "Why are you so nervous? You bit my tongue."
Xiao Ziyu didn't dare to move, to avoid hearing that teeth-grinding voice again: "Don't do it here..."
Yuan Heng stopped pressing him and instead pressed against his back from behind, with his arms around his waist, fitting tightly from shoulder blades to waist, holding Xiao Ziyu in his arms like a soup spoon.
In the Liyuan, wandering around the dormitory after curfew is strictly prohibited. Xiao Ziyu always feels nervous about breaking the rules. He pushed the arm around his waist and said, "What if Mr. Xiao finds you wandering around the room tomorrow?"
Yuan Heng had disliked Xiao Jinchuan in his previous life, and he got angry whenever he was mentioned: "We live in a society ruled by law now, so what if he finds out?"
"You can't say that," Xiao Ziyu retorted, "We are staying at someone else's place, so of course we have to follow the host's wishes."
Yuan Heng felt relaxed and at ease with the word "we". If it weren't for Xiao Jinchuan, he wouldn't have been able to hear Xiao Ziyu's confession.
He hooked the person back and rested his chin against the top of Xiao Ziyu's head, which was soft and smooth: "I believe that Mr. Xiao is magnanimous and will not be so fussy about this."
The words fell into his hair, and Xiao Ziyu felt as if the ends of his hair were about to become numb. The smell of ambergris became stronger. He wanted to hide, but he couldn't help indulging in it. In the end, he took the initiative to reach out and climb onto Yuan Heng's shoulders.
A smiling voice came from above: "So good."
Xiao Ziyu clenched his teeth and subconsciously reached out to push away the tentacles, but the muscles of the tentacles were like steel plates and did not move at all.
"You... let me go." Xiao Ziyu said with difficulty, but he was being held in the hands of others, so it was futile to say anything.
He was so bold as to act so unruly so late at night and stay overnight at his senior brother's house.
Xiao Ziyu's nerves were already stretched to the limit: "Bed sheet..."
Yuan Heng didn't expect that he still had the mind to worry about other things, and a few vague words of comfort fell between the kisses.
Xiao Ziyu was a little overwhelmed and wished he could knock himself out.
Yuan Heng stretched out his arm and reached over the bedside to take it: "After so many things, your body must be so tense that you can't sleep. It will help you relax."
Xiao Ziyu had no time to refute. His body, which had just been released, was indeed in extreme sleepiness. He leaned on the chest behind him and felt Yuan Heng's hand on his waist. The sense of security and warmth made him nostalgic. He allowed himself to indulge in it and gradually fell into a sweet dream.
The breathing of the person in his arms became steady. Yuan Heng increased the strength of his palm and turned the person over easily.
Xiao Ziyu was very well behaved when he fell asleep, curled up into a soft ball with his long hair hanging down and covering his face. Yuan Heng pushed his hair aside for him, and his slender fingertips were unusually gentle.
He knew how important Xiao Jinchuan was in Xiao Ziyu's heart, so he didn't expect him to reveal his true feelings in front of his senior brother. He was outside the house at the time, and every word was like a heavy hammer hitting his heart, shattering his armor, losing his defenses, and filling his heart with sweet joy.
He coaxed Xiao Ziyu to sleep, but he himself was not sleepy at all. The moon was low in the sky, and the clear moonlight outlined a peaceful outline. Yuan Heng bent his head and gently kissed the tip of Xiao Ziyu's nose, then moved his kiss to the corner of his lips, like a hunter in the night, hiding a myriad of emotions.
Xiao Jinchuan was right in one thing. He pretended to have amnesia because he was indeed afraid that Xiao Ziyu would ask questions. The three years of history when Daliang disappeared should have been completely buried.
Qinglan Garden is full of lush vegetation, and the dawn comes later than elsewhere. When Xiao Ziyu woke up, the room was dark. He didn't know when he found himself and Yuan Heng hugging each other face to face.
He reached across the broad chest and reached for his cell phone from the bedside table. His peripheral vision caught sight of the ball of paper still on the floor. He couldn't help blushing as he thought of the absurd things that happened last night.
When I looked at the time, it was almost twelve o'clock. He has set his Weibo account to be do not disturb. When he opens his personal page, there are no message notifications, only a series of red dots.
His clarification video has been forwarded tens of thousands of times. The program team released a notice this morning, stating that due to employee operational errors, the similarity of the videos was not discovered in time. They solemnly apologized to the guests and fans, and severely punished the employees involved.
Wen Ci's studio has just issued a statement, which did not explain what Wen Ci did, but only said that due to health reasons, Mr. Wen will suspend all work and business, and the time of his return is yet to be determined.
Now not only the onlookers, but even the fans began to feel confused and puzzled. When the video was first released, they flooded the square at the call of big fans, fearing that Wen Ci would be bullied in the reality show. In the early hours of the morning, they were slapped in the face by Xiao Ziyu. When they got up early in the morning, they found that not only did the real culprit not show up, but he also gave such a ridiculous way of handling the matter.
"Let Wen Ci come out and give an explanation!"
"I cried all night yesterday, and I didn't expect this to be the result."
"What do you mean by suspending all work? Do you really think our fans are leeks that can be cut and thrown away?"
"Unless Wen Ci dies, I won't accept it."
Xiao Ziyu was shocked when he saw this. After the incident yesterday, Yuan Heng and Xiao Jinchuan had not let him touch their phone. Only now did he realize how disgusting some of the remarks were.
The light from the phone stung his eyelids, and Yuan Heng woke up. He reached out and touched Xiao Ziyu's hair, his voice hoarse: "Why did you wake up so early?"
"It's already twelve o'clock," Xiao Ziyu said, then paused and said, "Wen Ci's studio has issued a statement."
"What happened?" Yuan Heng turned sideways to watch with him. His muscles were still relaxed after just waking up, and he felt very comfortable leaning back.
The two read the short statement word by word. Yuan Heng groaned and said, "Maybe you are right. Wen Ci did not plagiarize your work voluntarily. The studio did not even leave him a way out."
Xiao Ziyu slowly opened his eyes, as if he gradually saw an ugly beast lying in ambush: "What about him?"
"He may not be a bad person, but choosing to be with someone like Wu Xianyong is a wrong path." Yuan Heng remained rational, "Then you have to bear the corresponding consequences."
Xiao Ziyu pushed the quilt aside and sat up, feeling an indescribable feeling in his heart. He thought of Wen Ci's soft and gentle voice, the scars wrapped under the clothes, and the bitterness and helplessness when he talked about his dreams. He felt a sense of familiarity as if he were in another world.
"Don't think too much," Yuan Heng then stood up and hugged him in front of him, "Things have come to this point, whether Wen Ci shows up or not won't change anything."
There was a separate bathroom in the room. After washing up and going out, they found that the dim light was not because of the trees, but because of the dark clouds and a light rain in the early morning.
There was a slight noise coming from behind the moon arch. It was the small courtyard connected to the back mountain, where Xiao Jinchuan was practicing martial arts.
Hearing footsteps, he turned around and saw the two standing side by side as expected: "Awake?"
Xiao Ziyu felt a little guilty: "Master Xiao, good morning."
"Be more practical when you say good afternoon to me," Xiao Jinchuan put away his sword, his face uncertain.
In order to keep an eye on Yuan Heng, he asked the old butler to stand guard at the door of the east wing for more than half an hour last night. He didn't expect that the CEO would go through the wall and window to steal his cabbages.
He didn't want to embarrass anyone in the morning, so he waved his sleeves and said, "Let's go eat first. The food is ready."
The main room had just been ventilated, the windows were wide open, the incense burner had not yet been lit, and the faint Zen incense was burned out last night.
The aunt in charge of serving the food glanced at the three people at the table. Last night, after Mr. Xiao came back from the west wing, he did not go upstairs to rest. He sat there with incense burning for half the night, and went to the backyard to practice sword in the early morning. No one knew if his body could bear it.
The food at Qinglan Garden has always been light, and the main course for lunch is not greasy. The meat dishes are pig's trotter soup and steamed fish, plus a few thinly sliced braised beef. Xiao Ziyu saw the dark circles under his brother's eyes, and said while stirring the rice in the bowl, "Master Xiao, are you getting up so early to practice?"
Xiao Jinchuan swallowed slowly and said, "I can't sleep. Instead of wasting time in the room, I might as well go outside and get some fresh air."
"This Qinglan Garden is quite quiet," Yuan Heng said, "I had a good sleep last night."
Kissing, touching and hugging, wouldn’t it be a good sleep? Xiao Ziyu stepped on Yuan Heng's instep, signaling him not to be so arrogant.
Yuan Heng stared at the braised beef and chuckled, then put his legs together to trap the foot that was delivered to his door.
Xiao Ziyu's heart skipped a beat. He struggled to break free but failed. He used the serving chopsticks to pick up a piece of fish and put it into Yuan Heng's bowl, saying meaningfully, "Mr. Yuan, don't be so busy with other things that you forget to eat."
Xiao Jinchuan glanced at him indifferently, and he hurriedly took a piece and gave it to his senior brother: "Master Xiao, eat more too."
Eating a meal is more tiring than fighting guerrilla warfare. After the meal, to digest the food, Xiao Ziyu walked to the wooden bridge to watch the koi. The wind and rain gradually subsided, and the fish sank to the bottom, twisting their fat bodies and swimming slowly.
The plagiarism scandal has not yet passed, and the news of Wen's resignation from the entertainment industry has once again topped the hot searches. Rumors have long been circulating in the industry that he is being kept by someone, and netizens have different opinions, speculating whether he was hidden because of a falling out with his sponsor.
Xiao Ziyu strolled slowly along the long bridge. The clouds in the sky were like koi in the water, floating leisurely. The phone in his pocket beeped softly, he opened WeChat and stopped abruptly.
Wen Ci, who had disappeared for almost two days, sent him a message: I know you are waiting for me to give an explanation. If you are still willing to believe me, see you tomorrow at noon.
Attached to it was an address located in the city center.
There was a noise coming from the other side of the long bridge. Xiao Ziyu looked up and saw Yuan Heng walking towards him under the shadow of the tree. He put his phone back in his pocket and asked, "Have you finished your work?"
Yuan Heng had just finished a remote meeting. He was wearing a shirt and vest with a pair of odd-looking casual pants. He glanced at the fish in the lake and said disdainfully, "So fat."
"Don't be so mean," Xiao Ziyu said, and then he changed the subject: "Wen Ci just came to me."
Yuan Heng raised his eyebrows: "What did you say?"
Xiao Ziyu took a deep breath: "He asked me to meet him tomorrow afternoon."
Yuan Heng's expression finally became serious: "Are you going to meet him?"
"I want to give it a try," Xiao Ziyu looked at the chubby koi, "About the video, and... he's with Wu Xianyong, so there's no guarantee that he might have some leverage over him."
Yuan Heng had already thought of this, but he didn't want to upset Xiao Ziyu, so he didn't bring it up. He took the man's hand and half-squeezed it: "I'll go with you."
"No," Xiao Ziyu shook his head, but did not pull his hand away, "You are a complete stranger to Wen Ci, you will irritate him."
Yuan Heng used some strength and said, "If you get lost by yourself, aren't you afraid of upsetting me?"
"I'm not a child anymore," Xiao Ziyu said helplessly, "and that place is in the city center."
"I have reservations," Yuan Heng said. "If you insist on going, turn on the location function on your phone and contact me at any time."
"Okay," Xiao Ziyu compromised and made small talk, "Actually, this fish is pretty cute."
"I think you're the cutest." Yuan Heng used his wrist to pull him into his arms and hugged him tightly, "You always make me worry."
The next day at noon, Xiao Ziyu took a taxi to the city center. The agreed meeting place was a cafe. Wen Ci was wearing a hat and a mask, but Xiao Ziyu still recognized him at a glance.
After not seeing each other for four or five days, there was a bruise at the corner of Wen Ci's eye.
Xiao Ziyu stared: "What's wrong with your eyes?"
Wen Ci looked up at him, his soft voice seemed like it could never get fierce: "You don't ask me why I plagiarized your work, but ask my eyes first?"
Xiao Ziyu couldn't be open-minded, he could only purse his lips and asked, "Why?"
"I'll take you somewhere." Wen Ci stood up and supported his waist with his hands.
The clerk in the cafe was looking down at his phone and didn't notice the two people at the center of the trending search were walking past him.
There were people coming and going on the street. Wen Ci pulled up his mask, hailed a taxi, and drove towards the outer ring road.
The destination is not far from the city center, adjacent to the national highway, with the sound of cars roaring and heavy trucks passing back and forth.
After crossing the road, Xiao Ziyu saw a yard in front of him. The wall was built tightly and was wrapped with high-voltage coils. When he got closer, he could see the sign next to it, which read: Gambling Addiction Center.
Wen Ci must come here often, so he was allowed in after showing his ID card.
Full of doubts, Xiao Ziyu saw him register the visit record, and then an administrator came out and led them through the corridor and passed rows of rooms.
Finally they stopped in front of one of the doors. The administrator opened the door and a decayed smell hit them in the face. The room was not big and the furnishings were visible at a glance. The floor and walls were soft and all the corners of the furniture were covered with sponges.
A hunchbacked man was curled up in the corner.
The administrator knocked on the door before leaving: "4503, your guardian is here to see you!"
Xiao Ziyu's eyes widened, almost suffocating in this soft cage.
Wen Ci took off his hat and mask, revealing more scars. He closed his eyes and said, "This is my father."
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